Columns

The Problem with Rape's Portrayal in Fiction

September 14th, 2015

There are lots of reasons why rape's portrayal in media is difficult. Beyond the fact that these scenes or "plot events" can act as triggers for a painfully high portion of the population, there's the fact that we're talking about a very real experience with weighty implications. In media and fiction, the portrayal isn't always done particularly well or with much sensitivity.

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10 Author Tips for Con Appearances

September 10th, 2015

Sooner or later in your writing career, you’re going to be attending a convention. But you’re a writer, you have social anxiety, you live in the attic and never interact with humans, so how are you gonna pull it off? Whether your goal is to sell some books, to network with other authors and publishers, get an agent, or you’ve been invited as a guest of honor or panelist, you need to know the basics.

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Sink or Swim: 10 Things I Learned Writing My Second Novel

September 10th, 2015

In my previous post, I talked about the trials I faced with my first novel, Falling Sky, and the lessons I learned from the process. That should have put me in a great position for the sequel, Rising Tide, which is due out October 6. I'd been through it once, I knew what to expect, I'd learned the lessons, right?  Not so much. 

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Get Your Hands Off That Laptop!

September 10th, 2015

photo courtesy Anonymous and Flickr. How many of you out there still work on a dedicated desktop computer, with a tower, monitor, keyboard a

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6 Reasons Everyone Should Read "A Head Full of Ghosts" by Paul Tremblay

September 9th, 2015

Since its release in June, Paul Tremblay's A Head Full of Ghosts has received rave reviews and much-deserved praise across the board. Even Stephen King is talking about it. Yet despite its universal lauding, I bet there are many of you who still haven't read Tremblay's modern take on the exorcism subgenre. Well consider this the call-to-action you've been waiting for.

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10 Things Every Author Needs On Their Website

September 9th, 2015

I've spent the last couple months inviting over 200 local authors to an event as part of my day job.  This means I've seen over a hundred author web sites in the last month. Folks, these are rough waters. As someone who does some writing AND booking of authors, let me tell you what your web site needs. To put this another way, please, allow me to BEG you to make sure your web site has these 10 things.

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Go Back to Boarding School With These 7 Young Adult Novels

September 9th, 2015

September means back-to-school, and what better way to get in the scholastic spirit than with young adult novels set in boarding schools? These books all feature a lush boarding school setting, but the similarities end there. From edgy, limit-pushing main characters to sweet contemporary romances abroad, these books will get you in the mood for the classroom antics and educational pursuits that Fall inevitably brings.

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4 Storytelling Lessons We Can Learn from the Giant Fuckup that was True Detective Season 2

September 8th, 2015

Once there was only dark. Then there was True Detective and for a while things got a little brighter. But for those of us who have been hate-watching our way through True Detective Season 2, that light has slowly faded in a welter of confused plotting and Colin Farrell in a handlebar mustache.

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Deadpool's Greatest Hits: 6 Must Reads

September 8th, 2015

Thanks to some leaked test footage that went viral a year ago, we’re finally getting a full-fledged Deadpool movie, and if the trailer (and the trailer for the trailer) is at all an accurate representation of the final product, it’s the one he so richly deserves. Despite being one of Marvel’s most-beloved characters, he has gone relatively unknown in other mediums, and tragically mistreated by most attempts at adaptation.

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10 Really Obnoxious Things Writers Do

September 8th, 2015

The title says it all. Buckle up. Put on your helmet. I'm about to hurt some feelings. Here, declared by me today, are the most annoying things ever that writers do, and should probably stop doing.  This might sting but I do it because I love you. 

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